Write an Essay
The story The Swallow and the Pumpkinseed is a folktale and Don’t Count Your Chickens is written in the style of a folktale. In many folktales, some characters are rewarded for their positive qualities or values. Other characters are punished or do not have success due to their negative qualities or values. The characters and events teach the reader a lesson about life. What life lesson or important values do you think the younger brothers in the two stories help readers understand? Write a three-paragraph essay that tells your response.
Paragraph 1: Write an introductory paragraph that identifies the main characters in The Swallow and the Pumpkinseed and Don’t Count Your Chickens. Tell what life lesson or important values the younger brothers in the two stories help the readers understand.
Paragraph 2: Explain how the qualities or values of the younger brothers in the stories are different from those of their older brothers. Use details from the stories to contrast the character traits and points of view of the younger brothers with those of their older brothers.
Paragraph 3: Explain what you think the authors want readers to learn from the younger brothers in the stories. Tell how the plot events and the authors’ use of language and literary devices to support your ideas. End your paragraph with a sentence that restates the lesson or values that the characters in the stories convey to readers.
Use details from the stories to support your ideas in the essay.
The Swallow and the Pumpkinseed and Don’t Count Your Chickens are two folktale stories that contain important life lessons and values. The younger brothers in both stories help readers understand the importance of honesty, humility, and patience. These qualities are in contrast to their older brothers, who display negative qualities and values that are punished by the events in the story.
In The Swallow and the Pumpkinseed, the younger brother is rewarded for his honesty and humility. He does not pretend to be someone he is not, and he respects his elders. His older brother, however, is arrogant and dishonest, and his negative qualities lead to his downfall. In Don’t Count Your Chickens, the younger brother is rewarded for his patience and hard work. He takes care of the chickens and does not give up when things get hard. His older brother, on the other hand, is lazy and greedy, which eventually leads to his punishment.
The qualities and values of the younger brothers in the stories are in contrast to those of their older brothers. The younger brothers are characterized by honesty, humility, and patience, whereas their older brothers are characterized by arrogance, dishonesty, laziness, and greed. In The Swallow and the Pumpkinseed, the younger brother respects his elders and does not pretend to be someone he is not, whereas his older brother is arrogant and dishonest. In Don’t Count Your Chickens, the younger brother takes care of the chickens and does not give up, whereas his older brother is lazy and greedy.
The authors of The Swallow and the Pumpkinseed and Don’t Count Your Chickens want readers to learn the importance of honesty, humility, and patience. They use plot events and literary devices to convey this message. In both stories, the younger brothers are rewarded for their positive qualities, while their older brothers are punished for their negative qualities. The authors also use language and literary devices to emphasize the importance of these qualities. For example, in Don’t Count Your Chickens, the narrator reminds readers that “hard work pays off in the end.”
In conclusion, The Swallow and the Pumpkinseed and Don’t Count Your Chickens contain important life lessons and values. The younger brothers in the stories help readers understand the importance of honesty, humility, and patience. Their positive qualities are in contrast to the negative qualities of their older brothers, which are punished by the events in the story. The authors use plot events and literary devices to convey the importance of these qualities, reminding readers that honesty, humility, and patience are essential for a rewarding and successful life.
Paragraph 1: In the story The Swallow and the Pumpkinseed, the main characters are the elder brother and the younger brother. The elder brother is selfish and greedy, while the younger brother is kind and generous. The life lesson that the younger brother teaches readers is the importance of selflessness and kindness. In Don’t Count Your Chickens, the main characters are the older brother and the younger brother. The older brother is arrogant and careless, while the younger brother is humble and hardworking. The younger brother in this story helps readers understand the value of humility and perseverance.
Paragraph 2: The qualities and values of the younger brothers in the two stories differ significantly from those of their older brothers. In The Swallow and the Pumpkinseed, the elder brother is focused on his own desires and is unwilling to share his fortune with others. On the other hand, the younger brother willingly shares his meager possessions with the swallow and is rewarded for his selflessness. In Don’t Count Your Chickens, the older brother is overconfident and careless, which leads him to neglect his tasks and lose his chickens. In contrast, the younger brother is diligent and hardworking, never taking anything for granted. His humility and perseverance ultimately lead to his success.
Paragraph 3: The authors of these stories want readers to learn important life lessons from the younger brothers. In The Swallow and the Pumpkinseed, the plot events demonstrate that selflessness and kindness are rewarded, while selfishness and greed lead to regret and loss. The authors use descriptive language and the literary device of character development to emphasize the contrasting qualities of the brothers. Similarly, in Don’t Count Your Chickens, the authors show that humility and hard work lead to success, while arrogance and carelessness result in failure. The use of vivid imagery and the development of the characters highlight the positive qualities of the younger brother. Overall, these stories teach readers the value of selflessness, kindness, humility, and perseverance.
In conclusion, the younger brothers in The Swallow and the Pumpkinseed and Don’t Count Your Chickens help readers understand important values and life lessons. By contrasting their qualities and actions with those of their older brothers, the stories emphasize the significance of selflessness, kindness, humility, and perseverance. The authors use plot events, descriptive language, and character development to support these lessons and convey the importance of positive values in life.